Amazon may have violated people's privacy in the name of safety.
The popular e-commerce platform was recently found by Massachusetts Democrat Senator Edward Markey to have violated people's privacy by providing police footage from the Amazon Ring smart doorbells of those who paid for it.
Amazon's smart doorbell was initially advertised as Amazon's video doorbell and was pre-ordered and sold to consumers at $59.99 on February 24, 2021, per The Verge.
Amazon Ring Doorbell Controversy Details
Amazon was allegedly found by Sen. Markey to have shared Ring video footage directly to the police 11 times so far in 2022, indicating a "close relationship" between Amazon Ring and law enforcement and the proliferation of policing agencies on the Ring platform.
Sen. Markey then stated that his investigation into Ring's connection with law enforcement made him realize it has become "increasingly difficult" for the public to move, assemble and converse in public without being tracked and recorded - a fact that he cannot accept as inevitable in the US.
He also explained that he is concerned that biometric surveillance could become an important aspect of the growing web of surveillance systems that Amazon and other tech companies are responsible for as it creates a crisis of accountability.
Furthermore, Sen. Markey called upon members of Congress to pass the "Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act" to stop law enforcement from accessing sensitive information about people's faces, voices, and bodies.
In the meantime, Sen. Markey will continue to exercise oversight of the "harmful corporate practices" Amazon does as well as other companies that are doing the same thing.
However, an Amazon Ring spokesperson recently refuted Se. Markey's statements regarding the video footage shared with law enforcement officers, saying that it is "simply untrue."
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"It's simply untrue that Ring gives anyone unfettered access to customer data or video, as we have repeatedly made clear to our customers and others," the spokesperson told Engadget.
The spokesperson then said that the law authorizes Amazon Ring and like-minded companies to provide information to government entities if the company believes an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person, such as a kidnapping or an attempted murder, requires immediate disclosure - something that Amazon Ring "faithfully adheres to."
Amazon Ring also added that it has previously stated it will not share customer information with police without consent, a warrant, or due to "an exigent or emergency circumstance," per The Guardian.
The Impact Of San. Markey's Investigation
Sen. Markey's investigation into Amazon Ring's close relationship with law enforcement is sure to raise privacy concerns because of the smart doorbell's popularity, according to Politico.
Amazon is also being put at the forefront of this investigation as Sen. Markey's investigation will likely increase Congressional scrutiny against the e-commerce company.
Lawmakers have already reprimanded Amazon for its privacy practices following its Rekognition facial recognition service falsely associated 28 members of Congress with criminal mugshots in 2018 and how its Echo Dot Kids Edition may be compromising their privacy and promoting dependency on technology, per Tech Crunch and Wired.
